Bioenergetics and Enzyme Kinetics

Bioenergetics deals with energy transformation reactions in living systems. Energy and matter are the building blocks of the universe as we know it. Energy which has been defined as the capacity to do work is the basis of all changes that has occurred over a period of time since the origin of universe. The use of genetic approaches has been critical for elucidating application of enzymes, physiology, the study of body function overlaps with digestive enzymes almost completely, pharmacology and pharmacy rest on a sound knowledge of enzymes. The concept of energy and its transformations is useful in explaining and predicting most natural phenomena. The direction of transformations in energy is often described by entropy (equal energy spread among all available degrees of freedom) considerations, since in practice all energy transformations are permitted on a small scale, but certain larger transformations are not permitted because it is statistically unlikely that energy or matter will randomly move into more concentrated forms or smaller spaces. All enzymes contain a protein backbone. In some enzymes this is the only component in the structure. However there are additional non-protein moieties usually present which may or may not participate in the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Covalently attached carbohydrate groups are commonly encountered structural features which often have no direct bearing on the catalytic activity, although they may well effect an enzyme’s stability and solubility. The book is meant to be a text for students of life science, pharmacy, agriculture etc. at the graduate and post graduate level.